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A walkable community? Dream on
A walkable community? Dream onWhat is a walkable community? Places that locate within an easy and safe walk (normally one quarter to one-half mile) goods such as housing, offices and retail, and services such as transportation, schools, and libraries, that a community resident or employee needs on a regular basis.
Walkable neighborhoods are characterized by mixed land uses, compact building, inviting pedestrian corridors, and a streetscape that better serves a range of users — pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders and automobiles.
Walkable neighborhoods allow people to substitute walking, bicycling or other non-auto modes for short trips.
What is a pipedream? A pipedream is a fantastic hope or plan that is generally regarded as being nearly impossible to achieve.
Our county has dramatically missed the boat in land-use planning for many, many years. Why do I say this? Because we have not properly applied the “service district” concept since its inception in 1967. Nor have we employed the mixed land-use approach within the service districts to any great extent.
With a population of about 65,000 and the number of homes totaling about 25,000, we have about 57 percent of those homes and people living in our nine service districts. That means there are about 43 percent of homes located within the RA and RC zoned areas.
You may remember that our service districts in 1967 comprised about 270 square miles compared to today’s 12 square miles. So had it not been for the actions of previous local government officials reducing the size of the service districts, we would not be faced with this numerical disparity.
Along with these actions, the no-growth and slow-growth elements have fought tooth-and-nail to keep commercial and industrial businesses from locating within the service districts, and they have resorted to locating in the RA zoned areas.
As most people know and understand, a walkable community is a term most often applied to urban areas, less often to suburban communities, and very rarely to rural areas.
Over the last 80 years, America has undergone a transformation from a walkable nation to an automobile-oriented nation. This transformation was not the inevitable result of market forces, or of an American “love affair with the automobile.” It resulted from a set of policies at all levels of government that favors automobiles over all other modes of transportation, and ensures that all development is automobile-oriented.
Take a look at our existing towns and villages; there isn’t one that resembles a walkable community.
The services needed to sustain our daily lives are not co-located. And even more notable, those who live in proximity to some of the services still take their automobiles.
Another factor to consider is the fact that a significant number of us came here to get away from the urban/suburban lifestyle and deliberately chose to create space around us. We chose not to live in high-rise apartments or townhouses.
I am a supporter of mixed land use within the service districts, but, unfortunately, the majority of space within the service districts has been filled, so there is little chance of creating a walkable community.
Don't be misled by the efforts of local government to rezone a few small areas to mixed use to think that we will automatically achieve a walkable community. It will take a major renovation/redesign of our towns and villages to achieve that.
Further, it will require a completed infrastructure and alternative modes of transportation. And it will require a major change in the mindset of citizens. They will have to consciously accept the concept of mixed land use in each of their neighborhoods.
Do not be misled by the emotion-grabbing rhetoric being put forth by two or three of our supervisors or the recommendations they are putting forth to the planning commission in order to effect a change to the Comprehensive Plan.
Warrenton is about as close as this county will ever have to a walkable community, and it is nowhere near being that. As long as Marshall, Bealeton, Remington and The Plains support the rural nature (farming) of this county, walkable communities will remain a pipedream.
Griffin is a retired U.S. Navy cryptologist and a community activist.
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